Armed Forces: Welsh Military Bases

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many military bases and military establishments are in Wales; which they are; and what is their estimate of the contribution of those bases and establishments to the Welsh economy.

Lord Astor of Hever: The following list provides details of the 58 military bases and military establishments in Wales.
	
		
			 BASE OR ESTABLISHMENT LOCATION 
			 LLANDUDNO Territorial Army Centre Aberconwy 
			 Defence Support Group SEALAND Alyn & Deeside 
			 Defence Training Estate (DTE) SEALAND RIFLE RANGE Alyn & Deeside 
			 CAERNARFON Arfon 
			 ABERTILLERY Blaenau Gwent 
			 BLAINA RIFLE RANGE Blaenau Gwent 
			 Force Development Training Centre CRICKHOWELL Brecon and Radnorshire 
			 CWRT Y GOLLEN Weekend Training Camp (WETC) Brecon and Radnorshire 
			 DTE HQ WALES Brecon and Radnorshire County Constituency (Co Const) 
			 Brecon BKS HQ 160 BDE Brecon and Radnorshire Co Const 
			 INFANTRY BATTLE SCHOOL (IBS) Brecon Brecon and Radnorshire Co Const 
			 SENNYBRIDGE TRAINING AREA Brecon and Radnorshire Co Const 
			 TY - ISAF BASE CAMP TALYBONT Brecon and Radnorshire Co Const 
			 CARDIFF, MORGAN ST Cardiff Central 
			 MAINDY BARRACKS Cardiff Central Borough Constituency 
			 CARDIFF, GABALFA Cardiff North 
			 CARMARTHEN Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 
			 CASTLEMARTIN TRAINING AREA Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Co Const 
			 MOD RANGE PENDINE Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Co Const 
			 ABERYSTWYTH Ceredigion 
			 LAMPETER WETC Ceredigion 
			 MOD RANGE ABERPORTH Ceredigion Co Const 
			 COLWYN BAY Clwyd West 
			 MOLD RIFLE RANGE Delyn 
			 FAIRBOURNE RESOURCE INITIATIVE TRAINING CENTRE Dwyfor Meirionnydd 
			 JOINT SCHOOL FOR ADVENTUROUS TRAINING LLANRWST Dwyfor Meirionnydd 
		
	
	
		
			 CAPEL CURIG TRG CAMP Dywfor Meirionnydd 
			 SWANSEA, GRANGE Gower 
			 GORSEINON TA CENTRE Gower 
			 RAF PEMBREY SANDS Llanelli Co Const 
			 MERTHYR WETC Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 
			 CAERWENT TRAINING AREA Monmouth 
			 MONMOUTH (VAUXHALL CAMP) Monmouth 
			 MONMOUTH (CASTLE) Monmouth 
			 CAERWENT TRAINING AREA Monmouth Co Const 
			 DTE LLANSILIN RIFLE RANGE Montgomeryshire 
			 NEWPORT, RAGLAN Newport West 
			 PONTYPRIDD TA CENTRE Pontypridd 
			 HAVERFORDWEST Preseli Pembrokeshire 
			 CAWDOR BARRACKS Preseli Pembrokeshire Co Const 
			 PENTRE WETC Rhondda 
			 SWANSEA, MORFA Swansea East 
			 SWANSEA, GLAMORGAN ST. Swansea West 
			 CWMBRAN Torfaen 
			 PRESTATYN Vale of Clwyd 
			 KINMEL WETC Vale of Clwyd 
			 RHYL WETC Vale of Clwyd 
			 DENBIGH RIFLE RANGE Vale of Clwyd 
			 DTE KIMMEL PARK Vale of Clywd 
			 SULLY Vale of Glamorgan 
			 ST ATHAN Vale of Glamorgan Co Const 
			 ST ATHAN WEST CAMP Vale of Glamorgan Co Const 
			 WREXHAM Wrexham 
			 HIGHTOWN BARRACKS Wrexham Co Const 
			 YNYS GAINT, MENAI BRIDGE Ynys Mon 
			 JSMTC INDEFATIGABLE Ynys Mon Co Const 
			 MONA AIRFIELD ANGLESEY Ynys Mon Co Const 
			 RAF VALLEY Ynys Mon Co Const

Children: Sexually Explicit Material

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sentencing and prosecution guidelines are in place for the uploading, sharing and advertising of sexually explicit content by young people.

Lord McNally: The CPS has produced Prosecution guidelines for Indecent Photographs of Children and for Youth Offenders.
	Sentencing Guidelines are produced by the Sentencing Council which is independent from Government. There are guidelines for sentencers on the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Overarching Principles—Sentencing Youths, both were produced by the Sentencing Council’s predecessor, the Sentencing Guidelines Council.
	All guidelines can be found on the respective organisations’ websites.

Communication: Mobile Phones

Lord Alderdice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any requirement on mobile telephony companies to retain mobile telephony coverage in remote areas as part of the conditions of their licences; and whether assistance to those companies through the Mobile Infrastructure Project is conditional on retention of such services.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: All 3G mobile network operator licences issued by Ofcom include an obligation to provide mobile telecommunications services to an area within which at least 90% of the population of the UK lives. There is no longer a coverage obligation for 2G licences; these were removed some time ago as operators far exceeded them. The 800 MHz 4G licence won by Telefónica UK Ltd includes an obligation to provide a mobile broadband service for indoor reception to at least 98% of the UK population and at least 95% of the population of each of the UK nations by the end of 2017 at the latest. How the mobile operators fulfil these obligations is a matter for them.
	The Mobile Infrastructure Project is focussed on areas where there is currently no mobile coverage from any of the four mobile operators. The Government is making capital funding available to provide infrastructure and the operators have committed to provide coverage from the sites and to meet their operating costs for the twenty-year life of the project.

Communications Data

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a warrant from a Secretary of State is required for GCHQ to collect or store or intercept a spoken or written conversation over the internet when that conversation is between two United Kingdom citizens both located in the United Kingdom and where the data making up the conversation takes a route (1) wholly within, or (2) partially outside, the United Kingdom.

Baroness Warsi: It is the long standing policy of successive governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence. The Government’s compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is overseen by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner. For more information on UK law, democratic accountability and oversight governing the use of secret intelligence I refer the my noble Friend to the statement made by my noble Friend Lord Wallace of Saltaire on HL Deb, 10 June, column 1429.

Communications Data

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any further authorisation, over and above a certificate issued under section 8 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, is required for GCHQ to carry out untargeted collection and storage of data as it passes over fibre optic cables carrying internet traffic either (1) wholly within the United Kingdom, or (2) at the point where such a cable enters the United Kingdom.

Baroness Warsi: It is the long standing policy of successive governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence. The Government’s compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is overseen by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner. For more information on UK law, democratic accountability and oversight governing the use of secret intelligence I refer the my noble Friend to the statement made by my noble Friend Lord Wallace of Saltaire on HL Deb, 10 June, column 1429.

Communications Data

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether GCHQ collects and stores untargeted data as it passes over internet infrastructure; and, if so, under what legal authority.

Baroness Warsi: It is the long standing policy of successive governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence. The Government’s compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is overseen by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner. For more information on UK law, democratic accountability and oversight governing the use of secret intelligence I refer the my noble Friend to the statement made by my noble Friend Lord Wallace of Saltaire on HL Deb, 10 June, column 1429.

Film Industry: Classification

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they will provide to the British Board of Film Classification and its Dutch counterpart NICAM in the development of international user-generated content classification and filter tools for online video hosting platforms.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government welcomes the increasing use of age ratings for video content made available online. However we believe that far more can be done and we are asking industry to develop solutions by the end of the year to ensure that more online videos, especially those that may be popular with children, carry age ratings.
	In this context we are very interested in the proposals for more involvement of the community in developing advice about the age suitability of user generated
	online videos. The BBFC is keeping Government closely informed of progress on the user generated content ratings tool that it is developing with NICAM. We will be interested to see how this tool works in practice, including in giving viewers of content a voice.

Food: Security and Nutrition

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to take forward the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition to assist African smallholder farmers.

Baroness Northover: The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a joint initiative involving African governments, the private sector, donors and civil society organisations. The New Alliance aims to lift 50 million people out of poverty in Africa by 2022 by creating an enabling environment that will encourage investment by small-scale farms as well as agribusinesses.
	On 8 June, the UK held an event to take stock of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and launch new commitments. Benin, Malawi and Nigeria announced new Cooperation Frameworks that include commitments by governments, small and large companies and donors, aimed at raising farm incomes, supporting smallholder farmers’ access markets and tackling hunger and undernutrition. The UK will continue to support the growth of the New Alliance and measures to track its impact, in particular on smallholder farmers and women.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have taken legal advice as to whether the blockade of Gaza constitutes collective punishment.

Baroness Warsi: In accordance with longstanding convention followed by successive Governments we are not in a position to comment on the detail of legal advice. However, we are clear that the Israeli restrictions on movements of goods and people, including on access to agricultural and fishing areas, do tremendous damage to the economy and living standards of ordinary people in Gaza. In close co-ordination with our European Union partners and the Office of the Quartet Representation, we continue to press the Israeli government at ministerial and official level to ease access restrictions.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what pressure has been put on Israel to abide by existing agreements, such as those concerning the fishing limits off the Gazan coast.

Baroness Warsi: The UK continues to call on all sides to fully respect the ceasefire agreement. We regularly make representations at both ministerial and official level to the Israeli authorities on the urgent need to ease restrictions on Gaza, most recently with the Israeli Attorney General on 20 June. We welcomed the announcement by Israeli authorities approving the expansion of the Gaza Strip's designated fishing zone from three to six nautical miles on 21 May.

Health: Family Planning

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in meeting the Family Planning 2020 London Summit commitments.

Baroness Northover: Family Planning 2020 is a movement which builds upon the partnerships launched at the Family Planning Summit held in London in 2012. Since the Summit two pharmaceutical companies, Bayer and Merck, have announced price reductions of 50% in the cost of their contraceptive implants. This has been achieved by guarantees to purchase a minimum volume from them, a commitment underpinned by expected future funding for implants from donors (including DFID, Norway, Sweden, USA, the Gates Foundation and others). DFID has since provided an additional £37.1m to United Nations Population Fund to purchase contraceptives in 2012/13, including over 4m implants. Zambia, Indonesia, Senegal and Nigeria are among countries launching initiatives to expand access to contraceptive services.

House of Lords: Home Room

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask the Chairman of Committees what impact changes to the format of the service in the Home Room have had on its revenue.

Lord Sewel: The table below shows turnover for the Home Room, by week, from the beginning of February to the end of June.
	
		
			 Week commencing Turnover, £ (excluding VAT) Notes Number of trading days 
			 4 February 1,570.96  4 
			 11 February 1,282.88  4 
			 18 February  Half-term recess  
			 25 February 1,560.29  4 
			 4 March 1,218.25  4 
			 11 March 1,184.88  4 
			 18 March 1,036.38  4 
			 25 March 1,506.96  3 
			 1 April  Easter recess  
			 8 April  Easter recess  
		
	
	
		
			 15 April  Easter recess  
			 22 April 1,678.04 New arrangements introduced into the Home Room 4 
			 29 April  House prorogued  
			 6 May 130.04  1 
			 13 May 1,515.75  4 
			 20 May 817.79  3 
			 27 May  Whitsun recess  
			 3 June 1,248.83 Buffet introduced at dinner in the Peers’ Dining Room 4 
			 10 June 1,002.79  4 
			 17 June 1,033.50  4 
			 24 June 881.21  4 
		
	
	Given that there have been so few sitting weeks since the new arrangements were introduced, it is too early to make any detailed analysis of the effect that it has had on turnover.

Housing: Private Rented Sector

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the practice of some letting agents in charging a letting fee for the routine renewal of an assured shorthold or similar tenancy; and whether they are considering proposals to ban or regulate such activity.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of letting fees charged by letting agents for private housing tenancies; and whether they have plans to introduce regulation for such fees, for instance by relating them to the rent charged for a property.

Baroness Hanham: We recognise that a minority of agents offer a poor service and engage in unacceptable practices, which is why we are already changing the law to require all letting and managing agents to belong to an approved redress scheme. This will give tenants an effective way to address complaints. However, we are unconvinced that regulating or banning specific fees is necessary because whilst landlords and letting agents are free to set their own charges they are prohibited from setting unfair terms or fees under existing consumer protection legislation. Where a consumer believes that agents are in breach of this legislation, it is open to them to draw this to the attention of their local trading standards officer.
	Disproportionate regulation will just drive up rents and reduce the choice of accommodation on offer to tenants.

Internet: Broadband

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the programme for the provision of fast broadband in Lancashire.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Lancashire County Council were allocated £10.83m from the £530m of Government funding and have identified £21.5m of local funding to help stimulate private investment in broadband. The Government funding was matched by local funding sources and Lancashire County Council is responsible for the delivery of the local broadband project in the county. The Council undertook a procurement, independent of the BDUK framework process, which was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union to select a supplier. Installation of Fibred Cabinets supported by the Government funding commenced in May 2013 and it is estimated that on completion of the project in 2015 superfast coverage will be available to 97% of premises in Lancashire.

Internet: Broadband

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of each district and unitary authority in Lancashire is covered by fast broadband; and what are the targets for such provision in those areas at the end of 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Lancashire County Council were allocated £10.83m from the £530m of Government funding and have identified £21.5m of local funding to help stimulate private investment in broadband. The Government funding was matched by local funding sources and Lancashire County Council is responsible for the delivery of the local broadband project in the county. The Council undertook a procurement, independent of the BDUK framework process, which was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union to select a supplier. Installation of Fibred Cabinets supported by the Government funding commenced in May 2013 and it is estimated that on completion of the project in 2015 superfast coverage will be available to 97% of premises in Lancashire.

Internet: Sexually Abusive Material

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to encourage the use of Internet Watch Foundation tools to report sexually abusive materials found online.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: At the Internet Summit chaired by the Culture Secretary on 18 June all attendees signed a pledge signalling zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material on the internet. Government will be working with the Internet Watch Foundation, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the other organisations represented to ensure better use of all tools available to restrict access to illegal child abuse content, in line with this pledge.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Foreign Secretary’s statement on 28 November 2012 that Palestinians should return to negotiations without preconditions, what steps they have taken to encourage such negotiations, and to ensure that Israel enters them in good faith.

Baroness Warsi: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) on 23-24 May to demonstrate UK support for US efforts to bring about credible negotiations. He met key figures from both sides, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas. With both parties, the Foreign Secretary set out the urgent need for them to show bold and decisive leadership and engage seriously with US efforts, and the UK’s commitment to seeing a negotiated two-state solution.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), subsequently visited Israel and the OPTs on 11-13 June. In Israel, he met Justice Minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni, International Relations and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s personal envoy Isaac Molcho. In Ramallah, he met Palestinian President Abbas and Prime Minister Hamdallah (who has since resigned). With both parties, he reinforced our support for US efforts and the priority of serious engagement.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions on military accountability they have had with the government of Israel following the reported shooting of Atta Muhammad Atta Sabah on 6 June.

Baroness Warsi: We are very concerned by incidents in which Palestinian civilians have been injured and killed by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) this year. We have raised these cases with the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, the National Security Council and with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli authority for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We most recently raised the issue of investigations into the killing of Palestinian civilians by the IDF with the Israeli Attorney General on 20 June.

Legal Aid

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that access to justice for underprivileged, vulnerable and disadvantaged people is not put at risk as part of their further reform the legal aid system in England and Wales.

Lord McNally: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the nearly £1 billion of taxpayers’ money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
	The changes on which we’ve consulted won’t affect people getting a fair trial. We will maintain a legal aid system that protects the most vulnerable, and is sustainable and affordable for future generations. The Government is mindful of the importance of considering the impact of the legal aid proposals on different groups. In accordance with our duties under the Equality Act 2010 we are considering the impact of the proposals on individuals sharing protected characteristics in order to give due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful conduct, advance quality of opportunity, and foster good relations. We published our initial conclusions along with five impact assessments alongside the consultation document. These can be read online via the following link:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid During the consultation we sought views on the extent and nature of the impact of the proposals on different groups. Officials are currently assessing the consultation responses to inform preparation of the Government response in the autumn, along with revised impact assessments.

Maritime Labour Convention

Lord MacKenzie of Culkein: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will ratify the Maritime Labour Convention; and which branches of social security will be specified in accordance with Standard A4.5(2) and (10) of the Convention.

Earl Attlee: The United Kingdom intends to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 before it comes into force on 20 August 2013. A decision has not yet been made on the declaration of the relevant branches of social security protection.

Money Laundering Regulations Act 2007

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any convictions have been secured under the Money Laundering Regulations since 2009.

Lord McNally: Since 2009 there has been one offender convicted for offences under S.45 of the Money Laundering Regulations Act 2007, in England & Wales.
	Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Overseas Conflict: Sexual Violence

The Lord Bishop of Derby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resources they have allocated to raising the awareness of violence against women and girls in conflict areas.

Baroness Northover: The International Call to Action announced by the Secretary of State in March aims to intensify action to protect women and girls from all forms of violence in emergencies—both natural disasters and situations of conflict. A high level event in the autumn will mobilise global leadership—from the humanitarian agencies, recipient countries and donors —to bring about change within the humanitarian system. This builds on the landmark commitment G8 Foreign Ministers reached in their Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, in April.
	Building the global evidence base is crucial for awareness raising and DFID has allocated £5m for addressing violence against women and girls in conflict-affected and humanitarian contexts from the new DFID £25m Violence against Women and Girls Research and Innovation Fund.
	DFID has committed to ensuring assessments for violence against women and girls are undertaken in all UK funded humanitarian support, and is currently rolling out developing guidance materials and checklists to support field staff to implement this commitment, including training and technical guidance for Advisers, and a new help desk function.

Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have been held as to the minimum territorial contiguity necessary for the formation of a Palestinian state.

Baroness Warsi: We have had no discussions as to the minimum territorial contiguity necessary for the formation of a Palestinian state: we are clear that the best way to fulfil the legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinian people is through negotiations between the parties.
	We support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state; based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a just, fair and agreed settlement for refugees.

Personal Independence Payment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Freud on 24 June (HL Deb, col 598), whether the change to the reassessment timetable for PIP means that there will be fewer reassessments in 2013–14 than originally planned; how many assessments they expect to be undertaken in 2014, 2015, and 2016; and what was the total number of assessments for which Atos Healthcare were originally asked to tender.

Lord Freud: As part of the invitation to tender the Department provided forecast volumes of PIP assessments — as annex 6 of the service specification. This document is publicly available using the Contracts Finder service on the GOV.UK website. Since then the Department has continued to refine its forecast volumes most notably to reflect the decision to take more time to reassess existing DLA claimants — the majority will now not be reassessed until October 2015. Atos were awarded the contracts for lots 1 (Scotland and Northern England) and 3 (London and Southern England). The table below shows the latest forecasts for lots 1 and 3 alongside those that bidders were invited to tender for.
	
		
			  Forecast May 2012 Current forecast 
			  Lot 1 Lot 3 Lot 1 Lot 3 
			 2013-14 247k 199k 170k 138k 
			 2014-15 569k 471k 281k 240k 
			 2015-16 592k 490k 353k 301k

Personal Independence Payment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Freud on 24 June (HL Deb, col 598), how much further the average disabled person will have to travel to an assessment centre for a PIP assessment than they would have done if all of the contractors mentioned by Atos Healthcare in the tender document had signed up to provide assessment centres.

Lord Freud: DWP's requirement is that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a consultation.
	However, this limit is an absolute maximum and we expect that only a small minority of claimants will have to make a journey of this duration. Atos have agreed to this contractual requirement and have assured DWP that the withdrawal of a number of potential NHS subcontractors has had no impact on the travel time for claimants. The smaller number of NHS locations is outweighed by the large number of assessment centres provided by private sector physiotherapists.

Personal Independence Payment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Freud on 24 June (HL Deb, col 598), how many sites across London and south east England did Atos Healthcare indicate it would establish in its bid for the PIP reassessment contract; and how many assessment sites are now available for Atos Healthcare to use.

Lord Freud: Atos' tender documents—redacted for commercially sensitive information—are publicly available using the Contracts Finder service on the GOV.UK website. The PIP assessment service was procured in 4 lot areas. In their tender for Lot 3 which includes London, South East and South West England, Atos indicated their supply chain comprising both NHS and private sector healthcare organisations, provided up to 750 sites for face-to-face consultations. On 18 February 2013 Atos published its full list of supply chain partners which represents a large, flexible network of sites exceeding the forecast demand for PIP assessments. Any of Atos' partners' sites could be used for PIP consultations providing they meet DWP's requirements. Atos have identified up to 108 sites currently available across Lot 3 which meet DWP's requirements for undertaking PIP consultations. This provides sufficient capacity and coverage to meet the forecast demand for assessing new claims for PIP. Atos will make more sites available for PIP consultations from October when some existing DLA recipients will be invited to claim PIP and again in October 2015 when the majority of existing DLA claimants will begin to be invited to claim PIP.

Personal Independence Payment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Freud on 24 June (HL Deb, col 598), whether the Department for Work and Pensions has been in contact with the NHS trusts which were listed in the Atos Healthcare PIP contract tender documents; and, if so, what responses they have received.

Lord Freud: There has been no contact between DWP and those NHS trusts. DWP have contracted directly with Atos Healthcare for the PIP assessment service and as such would not seek to have any direct relationship with the Atos sub-contractors. The mention or not of particular organisations in Atos' tender was not a factor in the evaluation. It was the subcontract delivery model and Atos' ability to develop and manage a diverse and local supply chain which was evaluated.

Public Bodies

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for the decision to appoint chairs and members to boards of public bodies.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Public appointments are Ministerial appointments and the majority will be made by the Departmental Minister with responsibility for the public body. In some instances, appointments are made directly by HM the Queen or the Prime Minister.

Rainforests

Lord Eden of Winton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the benefits, and (2) the impact on the climate and plant and animal life, of the cultivation of oil palms in areas cleared of rainforest.

Lord De Mauley: The Government has made no formal assessment of these issues but has been working with the private sector and multilateral organisations to promote the sustainability of palm oil and reduce the impact of cultivation on forests.
	The Government has committed to achieve 100% sourcing of sustainable palm oil by 2015 and requires sustainable palm oil in its buying standards. This sends a strong message about the importance of supporting sustainable production and the role consumer countries have in promoting sustainable palm oil as part of our efforts to tackle global deforestation.

Royal Mail

Lord Clark of Windermere: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to preserve the records and artefacts of the Royal Mail.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Royal Mail's records created whilst in public ownership are public records and will remain so if it becomes a private sector company after a sale of shares. Royal Mail will continue to maintain those records and they must be kept and preserved in accordance with the Public Records Act.
	The British Postal Museum and Archive ( BPMA), a charitable Trust set up by Royal Mail, acts as a Place of Deposit for Royal Mail’s (and Post Office Limited's) archives. The BPMA is also the custodian of its museum collection and operates independently of Royal Mail.
	The National Archives provides a supervisory and governance role for the selection and transfer programme managed by Royal Mail, and ensures that they maintain standards for an approved Place of Deposit.
	Royal Mail and Post Office Limited provide the funding for the BPMA through a service contract to maintain the archives and long terms loans which will support the establishment of a new site for the museum collection. The BPMA also raises contributions from third parties.
	Royal Mail, under section 12 of the Postal Services Act 2011, is required to provide the Secretary of State with an annual report on its activities relating to the museum collection and the archive. The Secretary of State is required to lay this report before Parliament.

Slovenia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have monitored the trial and conviction of Janez Janša, the former Prime Minister of Slovenia; and what assessment they have made of the conduct of the case and its outcome.

Baroness Warsi: Our Embassy in Ljubljana monitors political developments in Slovenia closely. This has included the trial of former Prime Minister Janez Janša. The judge’s detailed reasoning on the conviction is due by the middle of August, after which Mr Janša will have the opportunity to lodge an appeal if he wishes to do so. Due to the ongoing nature of the case it would not be appropriate for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to comment.

Spectrum Alliance

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Newby on 24 September 2012 (WA 244), what was the outcome of the meeting between Lord Taylor of Holbeach and the Spectrum Alliance on 22 August 2012; and what consideration was given to establishing a working party on migraine issues.

Lord De Mauley: At the meeting with the Spectrum Alliance on 22 August last year, my noble Friend, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, offered to set up a working group to look at what additional help can be provided for people with light sensitive health issues. Since then, the Department of Health, Public Health England and Defra officials have been looking at additional voluntary information that manufacturers can provide for lighting products to help people with light sensitive health conditions. While this is a far more complex issue than first envisaged,
	the Department of Health has now compiled a list of relevant medical experts and interested parties. The Department of Health will be organising a meeting between manufacturers and the Spectrum Alliance to take this forward.

Vehicles: Car Emissions

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on British car production of the European Union proposal to limit the average emissions of new cars to 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled.

Earl Attlee: An impact assessment of the EU Regulation 443/2009 to reduce 002 emissions from new passenger cars that sets the 95g limit was published in 2009 and is available here: http://s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.dit.gov.uk/Content Pages/ 7218828.pdf
	The Regulation does not limit production, but instead forces manufacturers to reduce the 002 emissions of the vehicles they sell. It was designed to be 'competitively neutral' by setting a single EU-wide objective requiring manufacturers meet their targets on the basis of their sales across the EU. This protects the diversity of products entering the market by allowing manufacturers to offset production of higher average 002 emissions vehicles, with production of vehicles with lower average CO2 emissions. Manufacturers with limited product range and/or small production volumes can avoid disproportionate costs by applying for alternative targets, based upon the reduction potential of their product range, and these important provisions protect these important areas of British car production.

Vehicles: Caravans

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of European Union proposals for the introduction of a roadworthiness test for caravans, and in particular the practicality of establishing test centres across the United Kingdom and the potential cost to caravan owners.

Earl Attlee: In May, the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee of MEPs has proposed an amendment to the Commission's proposals on roadworthiness which would have the requirement to see caravans tested separately. Previously, proposals for testing small trailers (including caravans) had been rejected by Member States at the December Transport Council. The Government's intention is to continue to oppose such a measure. We do not yet have a developed assessment of the costs and benefits of this specific measure but we estimate that it could require around 200,000 tests on caravans per year.

Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making to include electric motorcycles within the grant and incentive frameworks offered for electric vehicles by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

Earl Attlee: The grants the government currently provides for ultra low emission cars and vans target those vehicles that contribute the most to reducing road transport emissions and which represent the greatest economic opportunity. The cost gap of the new technology is such that Government intervention is needed to encourage the move to mass market for these vehicles. The government fully supports and welcomes the development of electric powered two wheelers (ePTWs). The Office for Low Emission Vehicles, through the Technology Strategy Board, has funded a project to develop and validate a multi-speed gear box suitable
	for urban motorcycling that will help to achieve further fuel reductions in using an electric motorcycle. Currently electric motorcycles are not eligible for the plug-in grant. However, we will continue to keep this under review when considering the appropriate package of incentives to drive the roll-out of ultra low emission vehicle technology.

Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Type 1 charging infrastructure for electric motorcycles is included within the European Commission's Directive on the Development of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure.

Earl Attlee: We are still considering our position on the European Commission's draft Directive on the Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure, and we expect this to be finalised by the end of July. We will take account of responses received from stakeholders, including those with an interest in type 1 charging infrastructure for electric motorcycles.